To think Halloween is just another massive marketing ploy we've all fallen for.

[Blwean]

Reading this article today https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/30/halloween-boo-basket-useless-clutter?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1HhG1J-mqf1zU7ss8lxMCkNwsMJVTKudjgEt4auGVFrS8qwKuIUUUBmQc#Echobox=1698686636

Apparently Halloween spending is set to surpass £1bn in the UK this year for the first time and shops have been making a concerted effort since 00s to introduce more products and use social media influencers to push them.

Then there's pumpkin patches. Basically fields where people place pumpkins as there's none actually growing there and people pay silly prices to go and take pictures for Instagram. A friend of mine paid £50 to take her and DCs to one of these places then she's shelled out £20 on each of them for costumes and over £30 on decorations. It's her business what she spends on but just last month she was complaining about cost of living.

I'm all for celebrating Halloween but it's just about spending more and more money each year. The Instagramisation of it has ruined it and everyone just blindly spends loads on costumes they'll use once and other meaningless tat. Its the shops cashing in and we're all just like sheep who follow the marketing and influencers so we spend more

Nope I disagree, you don’t have to spend a fortune to participate, little or as much as you like. Kids love it so what’s the harm. I live in Canada, people here go all out with some incredible displays they must spend thousands but they obviously enjoy doing it too ! Some even play a character in their own scenes it’s great !

I would agree with anything else (valentine day, even modern Christmas...), but Halloween is a hell lot of fun with the kids! 😁

Couldn't care less if it is a marketing ploy, we love it. What's wrong with people wanting to be a bit silly and have a bit of fun.

Don't participate if you don't want to. Hardly anyone on my street bothered. My kids don't (i did volunteer to take them trick or treating with their friend). One drew me a Halloween card though. I brought back some free chocolate from work.

One minute I'm telling them not to accept sweets etc from strangers, the next I'm encouraging them to demand sweets or money with menaces.

What makes you think this is what Hallowe'en is like?

It was nothing like the American-style jolly Halloween we see now.

The traditions of Samhain are ancient but very different from this import.

@Meowandthen
The traditions are very similar to the Hallowe'en celebrations I enjoyed as a child in Ireland 50 years ago, which are directly descended from the old Samhain customs.

One minute I'm telling them not to accept sweets etc from strangers, the next I'm encouraging them to demand sweets or money with menaces.

You are circling round the point of Halloween in this comment. It's about transgression and the over throwing of normal rules. That's integral to the festival of Samhain when the 'veil' between the normal world and the spirit world is at its most thin and so our normal rules of engagement are over ridden. I find that kids adore this aspect of it.

But if you aren't comfortable with that, then don't do it. Why would anyone care? 🤷‍♀️

This

Personally I love Christmas but haven’t got involved with North Pole Breakfasts, 1st Dec boxes, Christmas Eve boxes or Elf on the Fluffin Shelf.

The traditions are very similar to the Hallowe'en celebrations I enjoyed as a child in Ireland 50 years ago, which are directly descended from the old Samhain customs.

Exactly. What do people think has changed exactly?

Oh do cheer up. The economy could do with us spending some money to be honest

My kids have always loved it. The things people do are tweaked over the years but I remember loving it as a child , ducking for apples etc

My carved pumpkins are out and It's been a parade of dressed up children at the door. Lots of smiles and pleases and thank yous and little ones taking ages to choose which sweet they wanted. Nothing but a nice cheery community feel.

Please do one with the unusual crap about kids " begging for sweets." from strangers. These are people from my community.

Please do one with the unusual crap about kids " begging for sweets." from strangers. These are people from my community.

Exactly @sunglassesonthetable plus all the kids these days know the 'rules' and in my area, they only knock at houses that are decorated or have a pumpkin out. We've been out tonight and so much of the neighbourhood joined in, I know lots of older people here who really enjoy the kids coming around, all dressed up. I've had all ages knock tonight, from cute 3 year olds to a bunch of well-dressed up teens who were very polite. There are many posts on the local FB group from people saying how nice it was to see the community out and how well behaved the kids were.

No begging.

It was worse twenty five years ago when I was a teen, getting your house egged was very common!

I LOVE Halloween. So far we have spent:
2 teenagers and 1 preteen costume = £0 (homemade stuff)
Huge pumpkin =£2.59 (but also made caramalised roasted pumpkin seeds and cakes)
Sweets for trick or treaters= £6

I don't think £8.59 is a huge amount.

I did plan to go away on holiday over Oct half term but the children pleaded with us to stay at homes they could meet up friends/go to Halloween parties.

The "begging for sweets" comments honestly crack me up every year 🤣🤣

It's optional. Like Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day etc. Do it if you want (but spare a thought for Chinese factory workers/slaves and the planet), don't do it if you don't want. It really is that simple.

No need to get sucked in by the marketing, just think for yourself. Personally I haven't spent anything on Halloween for well over 20 years.

We celebrated with our kid for the first time this year. He's autistic and we struggle to get him interested in anything, but he started talking about it weeks ago, then tonight he was giving out sweets and chatting to the kids, then we went out and he was so lovely and bold knocking on doors. I was so happy just watching him. Sure it's commercialised like all holidays, but it's lovely and fun to look forward to in the autumn, especially with the clocks going back.

I'm glad we've got Christmas too look forward to next to get us through November and December!

It depends how much you want to spend. We did home made decorations and crafts. Recycled costumes from charity shop. Baked buns for treat or treaters.

Yep spending money is what makes the economy go round! But one can participate without spending much. I spent (£12 on three pumpkins, maybe £25 on sweets. The 200 kids that came had a great time racing around the neighbourhood. A fun night for the kids with not a lot of effort. And not enough to buy a costume? One of my best was a long sleeved black turtleneck, black leggings, my mum stuffed a leg from a pair of tights and tacked it to my backside, simple cheap black cat mask - voila!

If you don't like it, don't participate? I don't 'celebrate' but it certainly doesn't bother me that people do. If you don't decorate your house, you won't get any trick or treaters either.

This is part of my heritage! The kids tonight are doing exactly what I and my parents did, go out dressed up, do a turn and get some sweets.

The only difference is that costumes are bought and we now have pumpkins rather than a neep, but that is a much welcomed change for those of us who endured neep carving and somehow still have our fingers.

If it is, I haven’t “fallen for it”. My nett spending on Halloween is 0

Halloween is overrated. Bought DD a costume but that's all

We love Halloween, We’ve had everything from little preschoolers to great big teenagers knocking and I’ve enjoyed them all.
I spent about £6 on pumpkins and £8 on 2 tubs of celebrations, everything else we’ve used from previous years.
I love it when the teenagers come, you can still see the little kid in them, even if they’ve not got on much of a costume. I've not had any problems and most of them were lovely and polite with a thank you.
DS1 is 15 and this is probably his last Halloween, he’s had fun with his mates and what’s wrong with that?

And on the stroke of midnight, the “Fireworks should be banned, there’s a cost of living crisis etc” posts will appear in earnest swiftly followed by the berating of Christmas Eve boxes and how that’s consumerism.
nothing changes.

My spend for this year is a tub of sweets, some battery fairy lights which will last years, and a themed item of clothing for DS that he'll get general use of and bought large enough to get a couple of years from.

He's had a great evening with his friends and it's been lovely seeing his other classmates at the door getting more independent.

If only Christmas was that cheap and easy!